Structural Settings and Geochemistry of the Myschka Gold Prospect, Tintina Gold Belt, Mt
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Structural settings and geochemistry of the Myschka gold prospect, Tintina Gold Belt, Mt. Selous area (105K/16, 105N/1), Yukon Serguei G. Soloviev, Carl M. Schulze and Oleksiy E. Baklyukov Klad Enterprises Ltd.1 Soloviev, S.G., Schulze, C.M. and Baklyukov, O.E., 2003. Structural settings and geochemistry of the Myschka gold prospect, Tintina Gold Belt, Mt. Selous area (105K/16, 105N/1), Yukon. In: Yukon Exploration and Geology 2002, D.S. Emond and L.L. Lewis (eds.), Exploration and Geological Services Division, Yukon Region, Indian and Northern Affairs Canada, p. 295-306. ABSTRACT The Myschka property overlies a large mineralized area within and adjacent to a 1200 m by 600 m Cretaceous Tombstone Suite granodioritic intrusion. Mineralization is controlled by at least four wide east-west-trending lensoid zones of faulting, brecciation and hydrothermal alteration. Just north of the intrusion, the zones were followed for a distance of 1500 m; widths of individual zones vary from 20 to 100 m. The zones tend to coalesce into much wider (up to 200 m) brecciated packages that dip steeply (70-85°) to the south and apparently crosscut the intrusive. A network of northerly dipping fault and alteration zones crosscut these breccias. The breccias include intensive quartz stockwork and thicker quartz-fi lled shear zones containing disseminated gold-bearing sulphide (pyrite, arsenopyrite) mineralization. Rock samples returned numerous strongly anomalous gold values ranging from 200 ppb to 1.05 g/t throughout the extent of the breccia zones. Larger quartz veins locally exhibit much stronger sulphide enrichment, resulting in higher Ag, Bi, Sb, Pb, Zn and Cu values infl uencing property-scale geochemical zonation. A distinctive gold and pathfi nder element soil anomaly is coincident with the breccia packages. During the 2002 exploration program, the prospect was advanced to drill-ready stage. Proposed drilling will test subsurface continuation of gold-bearing fault/breccia and alteration zones into the intrusive rock. RÉSUMÉ La propriété Myschka repose sur une vaste zone minéralisée qui se trouve à l’intérieur et près d’une intrusion granodioritique de la Suite de Tombstone du Crétacé (1200 m sur 600 m). La minéralisation est contrôlée par au moins quatre grandes zones lenticulaires à direction est qui sont faillées, bréchifi ées et altérées par des fl uides hydrothermaux. Juste au nord de l’instrusion, on a suivi les zones sur une distance de 1500 m; les largeurs individuelles varient de 20 à 100 m. Elles ont tendance à fusionner pour former de vastes brèches (jusqu’à 200 m de large) qui pendent fortement (70-85°) vers le sud et recoupent apparemment l’intrusion. Un réseau de zones faillées et altérées inclinées vers le nord recoupent ces brèches. Les brèches incluent un stockwork de quartz et des zones de cisaillement plus épaisses remplies de quartz recelant des sulfures aurifères disséminés (pyrite, arsénopyrite). Les échantillons de roche prélevées sur toute l’étendue des zones bréchifi ées ont donné de fortes anomalies d’or variant de 200 ppb à 1,05 g/t. Les plus gros fi lons de quartz affi chent localement un enrichissement plus marqué en sulfures, d’où des teneurs plus élevées en Ag, Bi, Sb, Pb, Zn et Cu qui infl uent sur la zonation géochimique à l’échelle de la propriété. Une anomalie caractéristique d’or et des éléments indicateurs dans le sol coïncide nettement avec les ensembles de brèches. Au cours de la campagne d’exploration de 2002, on a poursuivi les travaux de préparation jusqu’à l’étape des forages. Ceux-ci permettront de vérifi er la continuation souterraine des zones faillées/bréchifi ées et altérées aurifères dans la roche intrusive. 1104-135 10th Ave S., Cranbrook, British Columbia, Canada V1C 2N1, tel: 250-489-5156, fax: 250-489-5185, [email protected] YUKON EXPLORATION AND GEOLOGY 2002 295 PROPERTY DESCRIPTION INTRODUCTION sulphide-related (pyrite, arsenopyrite) gold mineralization, and bismuth-copper (chalcopyrite), arsenic (arsenopyrite) The Myschka property, 100% owned by Klad Enterprises and antimony (stibnite) veins. This is very similar to the set Ltd., is situated 110 km north of the town of Ross River, of intrusive-related mineral deposits and occurrences Yukon, within the Tintina Gold Belt (Fig. 1). The property known within some other large mineralized districts of is located 60 km west of the North Canol Road, which the Tintina Gold Belt. The broad occurrence of lead-zinc- extends northeast from Ross River to the Yukon- silver and gold shows the Mt. Selous cluster to be most Northwest Territories border near the Mactung tungsten similar to mineralization in the Mayo and Keno Hill areas, deposit. The property is centred at 62°59' north latitude, although some local variations (in particular, greater 132°07' west longitude on NTS map sheets 105K/16 and abundance of sphalerite in the base metal veins) are well 105N/1, and consists of 106 contiguous Yukon quartz pronounced. A base metal (+As, Sb) signature is usually mining claims covering 2216 hectares (5475 acres). Two considered to refl ect a distal position of gold airstrips of unknown condition exist roughly 9 km to the mineralization relative to a parental pluton (Mortensen southeast and 5 km to the southwest of the central et al., 1996), although some variations in metallogenic property area. specialization of the intrusives (and related mineralized The Myschka property is part of a large cluster of base districts) can also be considered. metal, silver and gold occurrences found within or close to the eastern contact of the Mt. Selous Batholith belonging to the 92 Ma mid-Cretaceous Tombstone EXPLORATION HISTORY Intrusive Suite, the major magmatic and metallogenic unit In 1967, the Lad claims were staked roughly 5 km west- of the Tintina Gold Belt (British Columbia and Yukon southwest of the present Myschka property centre by the Chamber of Mines, 2000). The mineralized cluster in its Hess Project (Atlas EL, Quebec Cartier Mining Company currently known extent, occupies an area exceeding 20 and Phillips Brothers (Canada) Ltd.). Work consisted of by 20 km, and incorporates several small granitoid stocks geological and geochemical surveying, and hand apparently satellitic to the Mt. Selous Batholith. The set of trenching, followed in 1969 by road construction and mineral occurrences includes high-grade lead-zinc-silver bulldozer trenching. The program revealed a Pb-Zn-Ag (galena, sphalerite) veins, chalcopyrite-pyrrhotite occurrence exposed for 15 m, with values averaging (+ scheelite?) skarns, stockwork and disseminated 205.7 g/t Ag, 6% Pb, 3% Zn and 2% Cu across widths of NWT Beaufort Plata Yukon Sea showing N MMactungactung Alaska Yukon ddepositeposit NWT Map area MMyschkayschka 63°N ppropertyroperty d a Ro Canol W ° North 135 Ross River 0 100 Figure 1. Location of Myschka km property. 296 YUKON EXPLORATION AND GEOLOGY 2002 SOLOVIEV ET AL. – MYSCHKA GOLD PROPERTY, MT. SELOUS AREA 0.3 to 3.0 m. In 1974, the Atlas interest was transferred to Dasha 1-6 claims, obtaining a 100% interest in the entire Cima Resources Ltd., which, in 1977, drilled two holes package. totaling 252 m. The drilling intersected two parallel veins within a fault zone; the upper vein returned 133.7 g/t Ag, 5.3% Pb and 4.7% Zn across 1.2 m, and the lower one REGIONAL GEOLOGY returned values up to 48.0 g/t Ag, 0.4% Pb and 1.6% Zn The Myschka property is located within the Tintina Gold across 2.1 m (Yukon MINFILE, 2001). Belt (British Columbia and Yukon Chamber of Mines, The current north-central portion of the Myschka 2000), which follows a trend of mid- to Late Cretaceous property was originally staked in 1968 as the Solo claims granitoid (diorite, granodiorite, quartz monzonite, syenite) by the Hudson Bay Mining and Smelting Company, which intrusions that extend from central Alaska, across central conducted grid soil sampling and geological mapping in Yukon, to the Yukon-British Columbia border. This belt is 1968 and 1969. In 1990, Noranda Exploration Company roughly parallel to the ancient North America craton Ltd. staked the Rush claims covering portions of the boundary. In Yukon, the belt is superimposed on the southern Myschka claims. Selected samples returned Selwyn Basin, a thick sequence of shelf and off-shelf values up to 3017 g/t Ag, 75% Pb and 0.2% Zn; a continental margin sedimentary rocks formed from late separate sample returned 665 g/t Ag (Yukon MINFILE, Precambrian to Triassic time (Gordey and Anderson, 2001). 1993). In 1996-1997, Mr. Ron Berdahl, a Yukon prospector, The southeastern portion of the Selwyn Basin, including staked the Andrew claims centred about 6 km southwest the Myschka property, is underlain by a broad package of of the present Myschka property centre to cover an old Ordovician to Devonian Road River Group and Devono- occurrence described as Ag-Pb-Zn-Cu veins. A Mississippian Earn Group sedimentary rocks, with upper composite grab sample of oxidized surface material Precambrian to Lower Cambrian Hyland Group returned a value of 17% Zn (Burke, 2000). Subsequently, sedimentary units extending northwest of the property. the claims were optioned to Noranda Exploration Hyland Group sedimentary rocks consist largely of coarse Company Ltd., which added the AMB 1-111 claims, and clastic ‘grits’, shales and lesser limestone and calcareous followed up in 2001-2002 with surface exploration and a clastic rocks. Road River Group rocks consist mostly of diamond-drilling program. This work investigated the thick chert horizons with lesser interbedded shale, potential of this mineralization, considered to be of a limestone and calcareous mudstone, with minor mafi c sedimentary-exhalative (SEDEX) style. The work, however, volcanic units. Earn Group rocks consist of chert-pebble proved that the mineralization is of hydrothermal origin conglomerate and greywacke, as well as lesser shale and (M.